• Celtic’s Brendan Rodgers may gamble on Moussa Dembélé’s fitness
A stark reminder of Rangers’ present circumstance derives from the fact a 5-1 mauling by Celtic in April does not stand out as the most embarrassing episode of Pedro Caixinha’s managerial tenure. A Europa League preliminary round exit at the hands of Progrès Niederkorn, who finished last season as the fourth-placed team in Luxembourg, then triggered the latest wave of suggestions that the Portuguese and Rangers will not prove to be a beneficial alliance. That sense lingers.
That Caixinha only ever appears 90 minutes from a crisis has long since been established. His role is hardly straightforward in trying to at least create a perception that Rangers can remain on the same page as a Celtic team currently undefeated in 56 domestic matches, spending midweeks in the Champions League and producing balance sheets that imply they could buy the remainder of Scottish football. Nonetheless, Rangers’ own summer outlay meant they should at least be firmly established as the country’s second force.
Continue reading...Football | The Guardian http://ift.tt/2xA4ztg